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How to get your honeymoon flights for free with points

And possibly your hotel room too, if you pick your cards right.

There comes a time in your life when you feel like all you’re doing is attending weddings. That time in my life is now. All those hours spent nabbing canapes from passing trays and discussing the increasing cost of Australian weddings over red wine got me wondering whether it would be possible to sign up for a rewards credit card, use it to pay for your wedding, and earn sufficient points to cover the cost of your honeymoon flights.

The first key piece of information here is the average cost of a wedding in Australia in 2018. A little bit of research resulted in three very different figures ranging from $31,368 to $82,060, with the average being $54,891.

Wedding Wonderland

$51,245

Easy Weddings

$31,368

My Wedding

$82,060

Average

$54,891

Even the cheapest option has the potential to earn a lot of points. But is it possible to earn enough to cover the flights (and perhaps a little more)?

The main cards you need to consider are those with large bonus point offers. These points are unlocked once you spend a specific amount in a certain period. That's easily done if you're paying for a wedding.

120,000 points (awarded when you spend $7,500 in the first three months)

Up to 120,000 points (awarded when you spend $3,000 on both the AmEx and Mastercard within the first three months)

Total points earned

158,696

188,641

Here's a brief explanation of the fees and charges discussed above:

Annual fee: Annual fees for rewards cards tend to be higher than other cards. Often, lenders will offer a discounted fee or partial refund in the first year. Of course, you can pay off your balance and cancel your card before the second year's fees kick in.

Earn rate: The earn rate describes how many reward points you will receive per $1 spent. This is the essential factor in how much long-term value you will get out of your card.

Earn cap: Some cards will limit the number of points awarded per statement period, with the earn rate dropping for any higher spends. For example, you may earn 1 point per $1 up to $7,500 per statement period and 0.5 points per $1 after that. If you're planning to spend more than the set amount each statement period, you might want to look for an uncapped card or one with a higher spend threshold.

Interest rate: While the average credit card interest rate is around 17% p.a., rewards cards tend to have rates of 20% p.a. or more. If you're not clearing your balance in full each statement period, the interest costs can quickly outweigh the benefit of the reward points.

Sign-up bonus: Most rewards cards will offer bonus points once you sign up and spend a certain amount on the card within a certain period of time.

So, how far do these points go? Below is a table of the minimum points required for a return flight for a couple to several popular honeymoon destinations:

Destination

Class

Points required (two people return)

Points remaining - ANZ Black

Points remaining - Westpac Black

Hotel - approx. starting cost per night

Nadi, Fiji

Economy

72,000

86,696

116,614

21,383

Bali, Indonesia

Economy

90,000

68,696

98,614

5,957

Phuket, Thailand

Economy

112,000

46,696

76,614

6,874

Honolulu, Hawaii

Economy

140,000

18,696

48,614

32,626

Nadi, Fiji

Business

144,000

14,696

44,614

21,383

San Francisco

Economy

180,000

0

8,614

47,385

So it turns out it’s easily possible to cover the full cost of your honeymoon flights and then some by paying for your wedding with a rewards card. Couples channelling all of their wedding costs through a new Westpac Black American Express card and travelling to Fiji would be able to cover both their flights and over a week of their hotel stay. Even travelling business, there would still be sufficient points remaining to cover some of the hotel cost. Those opting for a more premium Hawaiian honeymoon could cover their flight and have sufficient points left over to cover the first night's hotel stay.

There are some important caveats here. First, the above point costs are for Qantas Classic Rewards flights; however, you’ll usually need to book early to get these seats as they often sell out. Once these seats are sold, paying for flights directly with points will be much more expensive.

Second, the Westpac deal is a bundle containing both a Mastercard and an American Express card. While the calculation above assumes the full cost of the wedding is applied to the Amex, you’ll also need to spend $3,000 on the Mastercard to unlock the bonus points. Moving $3,000 of your wedding spending across to the Mastercard would result in earning 1,500 fewer points. Also, some wedding vendors may not accept credit card payment, so make sure to ask about this up front.

Finally, be sure to pay off your balance in full every month. Otherwise, you could end up in serious debt, which you really don’t want to be worrying about when chilling by the pool.

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